Guide to Business Travel Etiquette – France | kulturolltkapital.ga

About France

France is the largest country in Western Europe, slightly smaller than Texas. France is between the Bay of Biscay and the Mediterranean Sea; bordering Italy and Spain. 58 million people live in France, about 4.5 million of them foreigners.

Language

French is the primary language spoken in France. If you plan to travel to France, it is strongly recommended that you learn the basics of the language. Your effort will be noticed and appreciated. If you can’t speak French, begin by saying. “Please excuse me for bothering you, but I do not speak French” – “Excusez-moi, s’il vous plait, de vous deranger, mais je ne parle pas francais.”

Business Dress

The French are very conscientious of their appearance and view dress as a reflection of social status and success. Because of this, be sure to wear well-tailored, stylish clothing. Dark, conservative clothing is most appropriate – avoid bright colors or flashy accessories.

Business Hours

Most businesses in France operate from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, with a lunch hour lasting up to two hours. Many executives or those in senior positions will stay at the office until 7:00 or 8:00 pm.

Holidays

There are 11 public holidays in France. In 2007, they are:

January 1st – New Year’s Day

April 9th – Easter Monday

May 1st – Labour Day

May 8th- 1945 Victory Day

May 17th – Ascension

May 28th – Whit Monday

July 14th – Bastile Day

August 15th – Assumption

November 1st – All Saints’ Day

November 11th – Remembrance Day

December 25th – Christmas Day

Most French employees get five weeks of vacation and many will take up to three weeks of this in July or August.

Conversations and Behavior

The most important aspect of French behavior is the emphasis on courtesy and formality. When meeting someone, it is customary to shake their hand. But, handshakes in France are light and quick – a strong handshake is considered aggressive. Good posture is important to the French – so be sure to stand up straight.

Do not address a business associate by their first name unless invited to do so. The basic courtesy title for women is ‘Madame’ and is ‘Monsieur’ for men. ‘Mademoiselle’ is considered old-fashioned and should be avoided.

Sometimes, the French will introduce themselves using the last name followed by their first name. This can be confusing if they both sound like first names. It is fine to ask for clarification if needed.

When engaging in conversation avoid topics related to individual political views or other personal matters. Stick to topics such as sports, art, music and food. Be prepared to discuss your own countries history and political system.

There are many common gestures and behaviors that are considered offensive in France. Be sure to avoid the following:

- Chewing gum in public

- Putting your hand in your pockets while in public

- Slapping an open palm over a closed fist

- Snapping fingers

- The OK symbol (forming a circle with the thumb and forefinger) actually means zero or useless in France. Use the thumbs up instead.

5 Reasons to Get Business Travel Insurance | kulturolltkapital.ga

Whether it is a brief visit to another part of the country or a week long trip abroad, business trips to visit critical clients and other important companies are a vital part of keeping any business running successfully; and for every trip, you’ll need some kind of business travel insurance. If you only have to travel every once in a while, single trip cover may be sufficient, but if you travel many times each year you’ll want to invest in some annual business travel insurance. Either way, there’s no excuse to scrimp: here are five situations when the small cost of insurance could save you a lot of hassle…

The other company cancels the meeting at the last minute…

An ordinary holiday can be cancelled for all kinds of reasons, but for a business trip there are even more factors that can lead to a meeting being cancelled or rescheduled, leaving you or your company to foot a significant cancellation bill. Business travel insurance will cover cancellation as standard, so even if things change at the last minute, your costs will be covered.

You fall on or before the trip…

If you fall ill on or just before a crucial business trip and there is no-one to replace you, the consequences for your company could be catastrophic. Most good business travel insurance packages will cover the cost of replacing you with a work colleague (including their flights and accommodation) so that the trip can be concluded successfully in your absence.

Some vital equipment is lost or stolen…

Whether it is a PDA filled with important information on it or an expensive laptop with a crucial presentation, most business trips can revolve around a vital piece of equipment – if it is lost or stolen, it can hurt your wallet and ruin the business trip. Annual business travel insurance will provide you with year round cover for business equipment that is lost or stolen while you are away (and in most cases, they will pay for a courier delivery of the new item.) Of course, the data may be irreplaceable, so make sure that you back up any critical information on a USB stick.

Business travel is excluded from your existing insurance…

Many people assume that they have cover for business in the annual travel insurance they already have, but this often isn’t the case. Many travel insurance policies are for holidays only and have exclusions for business travel. Read the small print carefully, and make sure you get full travel insurance for business trips if you aren’t covered.

You need to be hospitalised after an accident…

Whether it is just a cracked rib or something much more serious, medical care abroad while you are uninsured is no laughing matter. With so many business trips to America (which can have medical costs running into thousands of pounds) it really pays to have some decent business travel insurance. As outlined above, many standard travel insurance policies exclude business trips, so make sure you get the right kind of cover and avoid the threat of massive medical costs.

Effective Strategies in Generating Leads Within Your Home Business Blueprint

When it comes to online business the most important thing is to get every visitor who comes to your site deliberately or accidentally to be interested enough to want to do business with you. This is, after all, the point of online marketing. Different businesses have different strategies to generate interest or leads. There are some who swear that the best leads are the ones who interact with you via social media so they advertise on Facebook, but there is no ultimate home business blueprint, no one way of getting it right. When developing your home business blueprint, there are things that are essential in generating leads for online business that you can follow. Here’s a list of the different methods that online marketers can follow to generate lead.

1. Create a Website

This is a no brainer. How else can you call your business an online business or talk about online marketing if you don’t have a destination website? Having a website is essential, all other methods should essentially bolster or direct people to this website. The website is your store, other methods like Facebook, Twitter, blogging or Instagrams should be regarded as the fliers that introduce people to your business or your product, your website is the place where all the information and ultimately, business transactions are supposed to take place. Your website is your core foundation of the home business blueprint. This means you need to work at the content in your website and present the content in such a way that it appeals to the readers.

2. Create Special Offers

People love free things but they appreciate free things that are useful to them. The easiest free gift you can give to a customer is a free download. Your home business blueprint can start moving along when you create a little bit of a buzz. By having people take advantage of free offers you create a chance for them to give you their contact details. The other advantage is that you are sure that the people you contact are interested in some way in what you have to offer. Create a form for visitors to your site to fill out, make it short and simple and make sure that you get their consent for you to send them any further information other than what they’ve just downloaded. Make sure that your free download ends up leading them somewhere else. Don’t reveal all your cards during the first round; create a platform for further communication between you and potential clients-this is a good start to your home business blueprint.

3. Use targeted ads to drive traffic to your site

There are various online services that offer opportunities to target specific audiences like Facebook or Google Ads. When people sign up for social media sites and create accounts with Google they are often asked to list their interests. You can use that to your advantage. Make sure you know and understand how to use these opportunities.

4. Create relevant content for your target audience

Tailor your content carefully to attract the audience that you want. Tailoring great content starts from how you write on your website to the free downloads you offer. You could also create newsletters to keep your leads informed. With any home business blueprint, make sure that you communicate your message clearly and that your passion comes through in your writing. Sometimes it takes a while to convert a sales lead into an actual customer because they might need information or they might require some kind of assurance that you know what you are talking about. Be the expert that can answer questions before they even formulate in your sales lead’s mind. If you come off sounding like an expert, your sales leads might turn to be your best advertisers if they quote you or refer people to your site for information.

5. Create multi-channel content

This step is where you really escalate your home business blueprint. Some people might not like reading all that much or they might like visual aids instead of endless paragraphs. Make sure that you cater for different needs. People access information in different ways on the Internet. Some rely on social media, which would require you to create short but engaging messages; some would like to get the in-depth information a newsletter would allow you to create, others blogs whilst others are best reached via video. It is better to create content that translates across all mediums. This means that you will have to create videos, use infographics or host webinars.

6. Use social media

I do not care who you are, but anyone that has developed and uses a home business blueprint, uses some sort of social media. If you don’t, you either have enough cash in the bank already, or you’re about to go broke because no one knows who you are. Social platforms have become the most effective means of getting information through and getting an immediate response. When you set up social media pages make sure that you keep them updated and that you engage with people who leave comments. This shows that you care about your business and it helps create relationships.

7. Participate in online chats

Getting online friend, or “followers” does not happen overnight. Just like a lot of the things within your home business blueprint, it takes hours, days and months of being online, connected to the right people on Twitter through whose following you might chance upon leads. Participate in Twitter chats that are relevant to your business. One you get those likes and followers work at building relationships and eventually wok at converting our Twitter friends to actual clients.

8. Join groups and forums

Again, social media platforms like Facebook enable people to create groups. Find groups that are relevant to your business and join. Make sure that the groups you join are active, that there are no dead silences that last for months; otherwise you might end up being the lone poster who annoys everybody else. It is easy to go unnoticed in groups but to make sure that people know you are there; you need to engage. Be personable… this is what makes your home business blueprint fun. Ask questions, wish someone a happy birthday, have conversations.

9. Form partnerships with others to cross promote

Find someone who has worked as hard as you have to build a network and find ways to collaborate. The best collaborations are with people whose business would enhance yours and vice versa. You might collaborate on a webinar to communicate what you are an expert in and they might do the same for you. The internet is a very big world, there is no home business blueprint for success. It is easy to get lost in the world wide web or to simply exist with no one ever seeing you, if it takes latching on to someone to be noticed, then latch on.